Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Receives $169.15 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $169.15.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Yum! to $179, signaling conviction in upside vs. the current trading range and providing tangible valuation support. Barclays Increases Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Price Target to $179.00
• Positive Sentiment: Gordon Haskett upgraded YUM from hold to buy, adding buying momentum from the sell-side and reinforcing investor confidence. Gordon Haskett upgrades Yum! Brands (YUM)
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating, which supports demand from investors who follow benchmark research. Sanford Bernstein reaffirms overweight
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlights Yum!’s multi-year shareholder returns (about a 9.0% CAGR over five years), which can attract long-term investors and supports valuation stability. Yum! Brands shareholders have earned a 9.0% CAGR over the last five years
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains constructive overall (consensus “Moderate Buy”), but it points to mixed analyst views and moderate upside rather than a unanimous bullish case. Yum! Brands Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages
• Neutral Sentiment: Several write-ups describe analyst sentiment as “cautiously optimistic” amid leadership changes — this tempers enthusiasm and suggests the stock could see increased volatility while investors wait for clarity. Cautiously Optimistic Analyst Sentiment on Yum! Brands (YUM) Amid Leadership Changes
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital issued a “hold,” which may cap near-term upside from investors who follow that shop. Yum! Brands Gets a Hold from BMO Capital
• Negative Sentiment: Oppenheimer downgraded Yum!, introducing sell-side downside pressure and signaling that some analysts see execution or leadership risks that could weigh on growth expectations. Oppenheimer downgrades Yum! Brands (YUM)

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.4%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $155.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.00. Yum! Brands has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.12. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 17.95%.The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 2,790 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.48, for a total transaction of $419,839.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 26,650 shares in the company, valued at $4,010,292. This trade represents a 9.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 1,269 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.37, for a total value of $189,550.53. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,559.68. This trade represents a 95.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 30,695 shares of company stock worth $4,582,843 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.